Chicago Northwest Blog

5 Benefits of Planning a Meeting with Convention and Visitors Bureaus

As a meeting planner, one of the most valuable resources you can tap into is the local convention and visitors bureau (CVB) for the city or area in which you intend to host your event. Surprisingly, many event organizers overlook working with a destination CVB. They are unaware of all of the different services they have to offer, often paying money to outside management companies for services that CVBs provide free. If you haven’t yet looked into the many amazing benefits of working with a CVB, you’re missing out! Below are the five benefits of meeting planning with a convention and visitors bureau.

1. They’ll Help You Choose a Venue

In terms of your host city, CVBs know the lay of the land better than anyone, and they have a wealth of knowledge regarding the meeting facilities, hotels, and local attractions that the area has to offer. They can also provide helpful guidance regarding which venue will be the right fit for your meeting’s objectives.

For example, Meet Chicago Northwest covers a total service area of eight different communities (i.e., Arlington Heights, Elk Grove Village, Itasca, Rolling Meadows, Roselle, Schaumberg, Streamwood, and Wood Dale), with more than 100 hotels and alternative venues to choose from. It would be quite a challenge for a meeting planner who’s unfamiliar with the northwest Chicago area to narrow down a suitable venue choice without feeling overwhelmed. Working with a CVB makes venue selection a snap.

2. They’ll Distribute Your RFP

Your destination CVB will work with you to develop an effective request for proposal, and then distribute it to the hotels and venues of your choice. They’ll also monitor responses from venues to ensure that you’re getting replies in a timely manner. The CVB can also serve as your liaison, intercepting questions from various venues so that you won’t be flooded with emails and phone calls as the responses come rolling in.

3. They’ll Assist with Your Site Inspections

You don’t have to burn away hours of planning time when you’ve enlisted the help of a CVB for your site inspections. They’ll develop your itinerary by confirming venue appointments, arranging on-site transportation and assisting with accommodations. A CVB will also even pick you up at the airport. They will ensure each hotel and venue understands the specific needs of your organization and is ready to address them on your visit.

4. They’ll Provide Attendance Promotion Services

CVBs provide a variety of complimentary materials including maps, logos, brochures, photo albums, videos, and various information about the destinationthat you can use to boost awareness (and anticipation) of the location of your event, or a link or promotional portal for your event on the destination website.

5. They Do It All – FREE!

The most outstanding benefit of working with a CVB is that they provide all of these awesome services free! Remember, their number-one job is to attract visitors to their destination, so they’ll do whatever they can to make your meeting a success!

One call does it all!

Give us a call (800-847-4849) when you are ready to start planning your next meeting or event. We are here to help!